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Josh Thole Will Most Likely be Back In 2013

Yesterday at the GM Meetings, Sandy Alderson spoke with reporters and emphasized that while he gets perhaps a little more payroll flexibility than he originally anticipated, that it still doesn’t change much about the kinds of players they can acquire this winter, and that they still will be looking at the bottom of the free agent market pool.

Mike Puma of the New York Post added that with regard to catcher, Alderson also said they will likely be keeping Josh Thole because of how difficult it is to find just one catcher, let alone two.

Thole, who earned $498,000 in 2012, is arbitration eligible and could easily double his salary and earn close to one million dollars in 2013.

As we highlighted on Mets Merized Online, it’s slim pickings at catcher. I keep hearing many Mets fans mentioning the name of Blue Jays elite catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud as a potential target for the team. But they have as much inclination to trade their top prospect as we do Zack Wheeler, so unless we’re talking a swap of top prospects, it is unrealistic to view him as someone the Mets could potentially go after.

Any team that has a solid catcher that they are willing to trade understands the scarcity of quality at that position and would demand a premium in return and rightfully so. We would do the same in their position.

As far as Thole goes, he’s cheap and has very little offensive value, but he’s shown a good ability to catch a knuckleball, and has developed a good relationship with R.A. Dickey.

2 thoughts on “Josh Thole Will Most Likely be Back In 2013”

How absolutely and utterly pathetic. We have to keep a catcher who can’t hit, can’t hit for power, can’t run, can’t consistently throw runners out and is a an overall below average catcher because he can catch o can catch Dickey. Do you and the Mets think we are so stupid to think that Josh Thole is the only catcher in the world who can can catch Dickey? Give us a break. Say it, tell the truth. The Mets saw what a backup like Ross got and now Thole is OK. Its pure hypocrisy. Get off your love of Sandy A horse and demand he and the Wilpons leave town.